Written by Mark Wogenrich at the MorningCall.com
A year after hugging his parents, his brother and his grandfather following his historic Masters victory, Jordan Spieth returned to Augusta National Golf Club this week almost as an underdog.
“Isn’t Jason [Day] the favorite?” Spieth asked Tuesday. “So nice, he can be the favorite. We’ll just go ahead and do our thing.”
The defending champion, who set a series of astonishing scoring records in 2015, seeks to become just the fourth player (with Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods) to win consecutive Masters. But Spieth’s putter hasn’t been the magical wand of 2015, and his early season travel schedule led him to admit to fatigue at several events.
Add the compelling games of his fellow players — notably Day, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson — and the 22-year-old Spieth doesn’t return to Augusta National as an overwhelming favorite.
Which might even been a benefit.
“It may be a good thing that he’s going into Augusta at No. 2 [in the world],” said Day, who is No. 1. “It may motivate him more. And once again, he’s won there at Augusta. Maybe a little bit of spotlight will come off him, but I don’t think so. I still think he’s the defending champ going in there. He’s a very popular kid. He’s a very popular face in golf.”
On that point, the 2015 Masters was the turning point. Spieth set a tournament record for most birdies (28) and became the first player to reach 19-under par in Masters history.
Spieth eventually tied Tiger Woods’ scoring record at 18-under, cruising to a four-shot victory. Afterward, he shared a long celebration with his parents Shawn and Chris (both Saucon Valley High graduates), brother Steven and grandfather Bob Julius (a former Bethlehem Steel engineer) behind the 18th green.
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